BENTLEY’S BANDSTAND: March 2026
Hank Alrich, BROKEN RIVER. When it came time to build Austin, Texas into a musical capital of the world, there were a dozen true believers there in 1970 that took on the task. And no one did more than Hank Alrich. He helped bring to life the Armadillo World Headquarters, which became a live venue at the center of the city’s soul. And then he was a founder of Onion Audio and Armadillo Records that helped capture the music of the growing city. But among all Alrich’s activities he was never really known as a singer-songwriter. Which was Austin’s loss, because this new album is a revelation. Not only can the man sing, but he can write songs that will surely remain timeless. Hank Alrich’s voice has a near-supernatural sound, one that feels like he’s been singing through the spirit of time. It’s a bit disconcerting to realize all these years his records had not been recorded and found a world of listeners. But on songs like “Fast Money,” “Don’t You Listen to That Man, “Blue Guru” and “Denial River Blues,” there is clearly a strength that is just waiting to be discovered. And it’s a truism that it’s never too late to begin, and this is someone whose years of experience and awareness of all he’s seen and heard, it feels like Hank Alrich is ready to open the door and take the stage. There is a strength in his songs and delivery ready for an audience. It’s that simple. Hit the lights.
Peter Case, AT McCABE’S: MY LIFE TO LIVE. In his own totally idiosyncratic manner, Peter Case has become an American hero. He started playing a mess of struggling blues when he was young, because that’s the sound that first hit his monkey nerve. Then he eased into the rock & roll waters with the Plimsouls, but then slowly made his way back to the blues. His blues. But this time the man wrote nearly all his own songs, and didn’t apologize to anyone. Case rolled and tumbled for years, and found a beautiful attack on the music at the very heartbeat of America. Give him an acoustic guitar and harmonica and Peter Case can take a listener to the outer limits and back. He’s got the magic in his guitar. When he writes a song like “If I Go Crazy,” the man is not kidding. His blooming beatnik side takes over and there is no stopping him. Case has set his chickens free and there is no going back now. The scene of recording at McCabe’s and near the landside edge of Santa Monica, California has been a hunting ground for stellar live music for 70-something years, and actually was the spot where Ry Cooder used to give guitar lessons to students when he was still in junior high. That’s McCabe’s. And the way Peter Case is able to play to the spirits in the small room of this vaulted guitar store frees the spirit of the sounds. So if it’s a little juju you need in your life, head right here. There’s even a knocked-out take on John Coltrane’s classic “Naisma,” just in case it’s.needed. You can’t miss.
MIKE FINNIGAN. This music will hit the monkey nerve full on and put a new glide in the stride when the new album opens up on the airwaves. That’s because Mike Finnigan is someone who paid honor to the blues and soul music the entire time he was breathing on the planet or not playing basketball. Which he did with massive finesse, but eventually chose music over sports to take on full-time. Lucky for listeners, that’s for sure. This entire album goes to the top of the list for one of the best records of 2026. He grabbed onto blues young, and played it for the next 60 years. Non-stop. There might have been detours into recording with Jimi Hendrix on ELECTRIC LADYLAND, and playing with artists like Bonnie Raitt and others for years. But Finnigan always came back to his blues. That’s where his heart lived. And for this last album he went for broke, discovering classic songs, covering the very best of the blues playlists and making sure every single musician on the album was exactly the right one. And they had the right songs to really show what they could do. There hasn’t been an album quite like this for awhile, and producer JJ Blair went the distance to bring everything together. Going down the list of musicians and singers here is a walk on the wonderful side, starting with Smokey Robinson. And every note and beat that comes after feels like it was meant specifically to fit in these recordings. It’s really a new wonder of life, and one everyone should hear. Say amen somebody.
Bill Frisell, IN MY DREAMS. Talk about a musician of many colors: guitarist Bill Frisell practically invented the box of big crayolas. His wave of weaving so many elements and sounds together is right there with being a magician, and in such a long and varied career he should be given a plaque by the Amoeba Records stores for EIA (Eclecticism in Action). He’s that eclectic. And while there are certain basics of jazz guitar in the man’s DNA, there is never a sense that he’s charging Jazz Hill in his soul. Instead, it’s just another strain in the veins. Frisell is really a person who digs messing with the rules. It’s obvious from his forever moving career that he doesn’t want to get pinned to any one thing. Instead there are all kinds of sounds veering through his original songs, and those he chooses to attack. From well-known classics like “Hard Times” and “Give Me a Bone” to Duke Ellington and Billy Strayhorn’s “Isfahan.” The mind swirls just grokking all that is here. And it goes without saying that the band onboard during this journey is of the utmost abilities to play it all. It’s in their DNA. So the next time an audio excursion seems in the cards, track this album down. IN MY DREAMS belongs securely placed in the mental plate above the forehead. It is springtime!
Jesper Lindell, 3416 JACKSON HIGHWAY. All right listeners, those who still believe completely in the moving powers of soul music: there is a singer today who knows all the magic of the music. And, of course, he’s from Sweden. Jesper Lindell’s new album, recorded in the hallowed land of Muscle Shoals, Alabama, hits the deepest nerves right on the spot. He and his musicians round up songs so deep in the well of America’s proudful moments that it’s almost hard to stay in one piece. These are classics that demand attention, starting with “If Love Was Money” and ending with “Drift Away.” It’s almost too good to believe it can still be done, but here it is. Lindell’s voice marches right in and pulls every ounce of attention to what he is so naturally able to accomplish: Reality with a capital “R.” And being in the thick of Alabama, all the musicians jump into the feelings that surround them in 360 degrees and take it to the river. There are times on this album that feels like it’s 1966 and America is producing music that feels like it will last forever–forever. This is no fooling around. Every single aspect of a classic recording session is checked off and passes the test. And while there’s never been a full explanation of how this sound does such marvelous things to the insides of listeners, one listen to 3416 JACKSON HIGHWAY will turn anyone into lifetime believers. And, of course, the last song had to be “Drift Away,” because that’s exactly what happens here. Into the clouds.
Van Morrison: SOMEBODY TRIED TO SELL ME A BRIDGE. In many ways, Van Morrison hung the moon. He took a handful of musical influences–blues, soul, jazz, Irish music, rock & roll and then there’s always that Morrison strain that is simply a magic way to pull down the sky and let his listeners levitate in air with him. His early 1970s shows in Austin at the Armadillo World Headquarters have hardly ever been bested by anyone in my book. Yes, anyone. Of course, everything ages. But this is an artist that still has the goods. Just not in quite the same dimension. That said, it still pays to stay a believer and listen and see Van Morrison whenever possible. This recent 20-song release of live recordings is a knocked-out set that brings back all the deep beliefs the singer always exhibited. Just maybe not in the super stellar levitational style. No matter what, though, Morrison is always big kicks to listen to. He just is. The voice is a treasure, and his sense of soul is still unequaled in today’s world. This swinging set started with an Eddie “Cleanhead” Vinson song called “Kidney Stew Blues” and goes from there. And with Van Morrison at the wheel there is no way ecstasy isn’t reached. Because, really, there will never be another. There just can’t be. Morrison’s voice, the timing, the sheer musical essence of this man is beyond anyone else. The world got a gift when Van Morrison arrived in Ireland and started singing. And still does.
Gurf Morlix, COBWEBS & STARDUST. One of the things that keeps modern music cranking forward are those artists who live on the edge of reality. Gurf Morlix has always been someone who listens to the grace and gremlins equally of life in 2026. There is no telling where he’s going with his songs, but it’s clear it’ll be a land of its own. He does everything himself, too. And that means EVERYTHING, from running the studio, writing the songs and then heading for Morlixville Population 1 with the music. COBWEBS & STARDUST is up to snuff for anything the man has ever done. This isn’t someone who pulls the punches, but rather he lets everything fly. The harshness snuggles up to stone cold beauty, and it all fits. Maybe because it has to. Otherwise it would be chaos a go go. In so many ways, now is exactly the time the planet needs this music. It’s clear that things have run askew in the world. Things aren’t adding up. And the way this man can strip things down to the essence of where life is spinning now feels like there may be solace in these songs, in ways that aren’t found in many other places. So when help is needed, listen to “The Center of Your Soul” or any of the other 8 songs here, and let the feelings of one man’s take on the twists and turns everywhere, and hope we learn a thing or two about how to get to the next hopeful place. It’s here somewhere.
Charles Ruggiero, PLAYS MONK LIVE! AT THE BAKED POTATO. There is hardly any music more exciting than jazz when it is played live in a small club. The walls start shivering a bit, and the people there become more alive. It really does often feel like magic. So when drummer Charles Ruggiero brings his players Bob Reynolds and Mike Gurrola into the Baked Potato in North Hollywood for a night of intense listening, there isn’t much that can be better. Maybe that’s because Ruggiero has a tight relationship with his drum kit, and knows just how to pull free the unbeatable sound of sticks on skin and cymbals. It’s a gift that has to be cared for with real intensity, and that’s exactly what this man does. And it does not hurt that the outfit is playing the songs of Thelonious Monk, some of the best originals known to man. Saxophonist Reynolds and bassist Gurrola have the beautiful talents to get inside these songs with Ruggiero’s metric majesty and just let things swing. Beginning with “Monk’s Dream” is the perfect kick-off to a set of freedom. No one had that feel like Monk, one which makes the world seem like a friendly place. As things intensify and the drums start to feel like a living entity, the bass and saxophone wrap their arms around the beating heart of “Let’s Cool One” and “Evidence” like only the great musicians can create. There is no doubt this outfit is reaching for the stars tonight. And finishing with “Green Chimneys” and “Misteriosos” is swiging in essence. Jazz is a music that makes the audience feel alive, and these three musicians are the perfect ones to deliver the goods. Come back soon.
Tedeschi Trucks Band, FUTURE SOUL. For a few years now, there’s an American band that has been moving up the steps on the way to being one of the best in the land. Led by Susan Tedeschi and Derek Trucks, they have finally hit that spot with FUTURE SOUL. Trucks, of course, is out of the lineage of the Allman Brothers, and has become one of the great blues-rock guitarists in America. His playing is both seductive and powerful, and even better has a style all its own. Which leaves the songwriting to zero in on, and that’s exactly what the Tedeschi-Trucks Band zeroes in on this time around. Songs like “Hero,” “Be Kind” and “Ride On” are Southern gems, the kind of originals that stay in the head and heard for years to come. One of the band’s secret weapons is keyboard player Gabe. Dixon who also has written several of the new songs on FUTURE SOUL. Dixon has a way of staying semi-sophisticated at the same time he gets down in the street. Pull all these players together in the band it becomes a mighty force that really is a collection of, as the title says, a future soul in the world. And with Mike Elizondo at the production wheel there’s no way this band, the size of a football team, didn’t take the soulful new album to the river. What a time.
Rick Vito, SLIDEMASTER. To call this seasoned guitarist a “slidemaster” is almost an understatement. For starters, Rick Vito can play anything. He’s been on so many music scenes it seems like they almost should name a genre after him. But this collection really goes to the moon. Vito’s way of turning the guitar into something that feels like a human being becoming the notes and bringing them to life is almost otherworldly. But that’s what happens here. Whether it’s instrumentals of songs originally done by Peter Green, Sam Cooke, Jimmy Hughes or originals, every single track takes on a life of its own. It’s one thing to play instrumentals, and a whole other accomplishment to take them into a new sphere. But that’s what SLIDEMASTER is really about: giving music a new frame. There’s no way to compare it to anything else, because the sounds the man’s guitar shares breaks open what the instrument can do. Maybe that’s why Rick Vito has recorded and performed with so many other artists: there’s no one quite like him. His notes sound and feel like they are coming from their own special place. In some ways, it’s like the guitar becomes a genre of its own, one that takes on a persona through notes. The final song on the album is an instrumental version of The Lord’s Prayer, composed by Albert Hay Malotte. It’s not like anything heard before it, and Rick Vito’s performance is one that will not be soon forgotten. For a sonic voyage to the top of the spiritual stairs, this is it. Say amen somebody.
BOOK OF THE MONTH
GARY STEWART: I AM FROM THE HONKY TONKS by Jimmy McDonough
There are biographies, and then there are books about something else composed about someone’s life. Those are endeavors for those whose very lives themselves come alive before the reader’s eyes. The places where entire times of living are brought back to the living, and people who open themselves up to taking on a new experience can find themselves in that life. Of course, it all depends upon the ability of the writer to enter the subject’s life all the way. Not just collecting and arranging facts and histories. The writer has to go deeper than just exploring. They have to put themselves in the life. It doesn’t happen that often, but when it does the lights get brighter and the world itself starts spinning at a new speed. Author Jimmy McDonough, when he wrote the Neil Young biography SHAKEY, went there. And, almost beyond belief, he’s done it again–maybe even beyond–with the Gary Stewart book I AM FROM THE HONKY TONKS. It was meant to happen, simply because no country singer has ever gone as far as Stewart did into the depths of musical devotion and what it does to the devotee. Gary Stewart really did give himself to his songs and the life it brought him. And working on this book, Jimmy McDonough did much the same thing. Reading it is a physical journey where Gary Stewart’s life comes alive, and the world itself starts turning in a different direction. As they say: there might not be any more. Don’t miss it.
REISSUE OF THE MONTH
The Blasters, RARE BLASTS: Studio Outtakes and Movie Music 1979-1985
If ever there was an American band who devoted their trade to digging into the music of the United States that they loved best and never turned around the Blasters were it. The Downey, California aggregation came together in the late 1970s and never looked back. The Blasters invaded their locale like an armed outfit hell bent on taking their love of American music and spreading it into every spot they could. And when they went national and even made their music for the silver screen it seemed like the world was splitting open. This collection of songs from that time now sounds like something made in another universe, and meant to turn new listeners into rabid rebels. To a large extent that’s exactly what the Blasters did. And as their songs expanded along with their popularity, it was like watching life itself grow stronger as these sounds began finding their footing. America came alive.
BENTLEY’S BANDSTAND: March 2026